Pygmalion (/pmelin/; Greek: , gen.

: ) is
a legendary figure of Cyprus. Though Pygmalion is the Greek version of
the Phoenician royal namePumayyaton,[2] he is most familiar
from Ovid's narrative poem Metamorphoses, in which Pygmalion was a
sculptor who fell in love with a statue he had carved.

Galatea (/lti/; Greek: ; "she who is milk-white")[1] is a name

popularly applied to the statue carved of ivory by Pygmalion of Cyprus,
which then came to life, inGreek mythology; in modern English the name
usually alludes to that story. Galatea is also the name of Polyphemus's
object of desire in Theocritus's Idylls VI and XI and is linked with
Polyphemus again in the myth of Acis and
Galatea in Ovid's Metamorphoses.

Falconet's 1763 sculpture (Walters Art Gallery, Baltimore)

The Myth of Pygmalion and Galatea
The myth of Pygmalion and Galatea is probably one of the most known
stories in Greek Mythology.
The myth of Pygmalion and Galatea is also one of the most influential and
inspiring ancient Greek myths, and became the main theme for theatrical
plays, movies and artistic paintings.

Pygmalion the Sculptor

Pygmalion was a talented Greek sculptor from Cyprus. After becoming
disgusted by some local prostitutes, he lost all interest in women and
avoided their company completely.
Pygmalion saw women as flawed creatures and vowed never to waste any
moment of his life with them. He dedicated himself to his work and soon
created Galatea, a beautiful stature of a woman out of ivory.
Ironically, the masterpiece of his life was this statue of a woman. Perhaps
he sought to correct in marble the flaws he saw in women of flesh and
blood.

Pygmalions Statue
Whatever the case, Pygmalion worked so long and with such inspiration on
the statue of Galatea, that it became more beautiful than any woman that
had ever lived or been carved in stone.
As he finished the statues features, they became exquisitely lovely, and he
found himself applying the strokes of hammer and chisel with increasing
affection. When his chisel finally stopped ringing, there stood before him a
woman of such perfection that Pygmalion, who had professed his disdain of
all females, fell deeply in love.

He would bring it gifts, caress it, kiss it and talk to it every day. He brought it
gifts he thought women would enjoy, such as pretty seashells, beads,
songbirds, baubles and flowers.

He would dress the statue in fine clothing, and put rings on her fingers,
necklaces around her neck and even earrings. However, what irony that he
who had scorned women should fall in love with a woman who could never
love him in return!
Pygmalion and Aphrodite
Such a passion could not go unnoticed by the goddess of love, Aphrodite.
She took pity on the young man and, when Pygmalion went to her temple
to sacrifice a bull, Aphrodite gave him a sign. As the offering burned on the
temple, the flames shot up one, two, three times.

Pygmalion went home, wondering what to make of the manifestation he

had seen. When he entered his studio, however, and saw the statue, all
other thoughts were banished from his mind. He ran to his statue and
embraced it.

Did she seem warm to his touch, or was it just residual heat form the
sunset that had warmed the stone? He kissed her.

Did the statues lips seem soft? He stood back and regarded her.

Did there appear the glow of life from within the marble form? Was he
imagining it?

No. Aphrodite had given life to the statue, whose name was Galatea.

Pygmalion and Galatea

Pygmalions mind oscillated between doubt and joy. Fearing he may be
mistaken, again and again with a lovers ardor he touches the object of his
hopes.
It was indeed alive! The veins when pressed yielded to the finger and again
resumed their roundness.

Slowly it dawned on Pygmalion that the animation of his sculpture was the
result of his prayer to Goddess Aphrodite who knew his desire. At last, the
votary of Aphrodite found words to thank the goddess. Pygmalion humbled
himself at the Goddess feet.

Soon Pygmalion and Galatea were wed, and Pygmalion never forgot to
thank Aphrodite for the gift she had given him.
Aphrodite blessed the nuptials she had formed, and this union between
Pygmalion and Galatea produced a son named Paphos, from whom the
city of Paphos in Cyprus (this city was sacred to Aphrodite), received its
name.
Pygmalion and Galatea brought gifts to her temple throughout their life and
Aphrodite blessed them with happiness and love in return.
The unusual love that blossomed between Pygmalion and Galatea
enthralls all. Falling in love with ones creation and then getting the desired
object as wife- perhaps this was destined for Pygmalion.

Even to this day, countless people and young lovers are mesmerized by
this exceptional love that existed between two persons at a time when
civilization was in its infancy.
The Myth of Pygmalion and Galatea in Arts
The basic myth of Pygmalion and Galatea has been widely transmitted
and re-presented in the arts through the centuries. A few centuries later
Goethe calls the statue Elise, based upon the variants in the story of
Dido/Elissa.

George Bernard Shaw wrote a play titled Pygmalion. In Shaws play, the
girl is brought to life by two men in speech the goal for their masterpiece
is for her to marry and become a duchess. It has an interesting spin on the
original story and has a subtle hint of feminism.

The story of Pygmalion is the subject of Jean-Philippe Rameaus 1748

opera, Pigmalion. It was also the subject of Gaetano Donizettis first opera,
Il Pigmalione.